CPS: Insufficient evidence to prosecute in Starr case

The Crown Prosecution Service has decided that Freddie Starr should not be prosecuted for any offence. Baljit Ubhey, the Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS London, said:

We have decided that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute Freddie Starr in relation to allegations of sexual offences made by 13 individuals. Each allegation was considered on its own merits and we have concluded that the available evidence does not offer a realistic prospect of conviction for any of the alleged offences.

In relation to one further complainant, we have decided that although there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction, according to the Code for Crown Prosecutors, a prosecution would not be in the public interest.

It must be remembered that a determination by a prosecutor that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute under the Code does not mean that the suspect is guilty of the offence.

Prosecutors have to consider whether there is enough evidence to bring a case to trial but deciding whether an offence has been committed is entirely a matter for courts and juries and every suspect is innocent until proven guilty. All of these decisions have been taken in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and our guidance for prosecutors on cases of sexual offences.

The complainants have been informed and we will be writing to them to more fully explain our decision.

The 71-year-old, from Warwickshire, was first arrested in November 2012 by detectives from sex crime inquiry Operation Yewtree, and was rebailed several times.